3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
Is it somewhat similar to this? It's a collarette named "Mr. Jones" and I grabbed the photo just to see if the little circle of white was what you were describing, not necessarily the whole bloom.
or this? Christmas Star from Connell's Dahlias.
Gosh those are pretty! The more I look at them, the more I want them LOL. It sure sounds like a collarette dahlia and you can search for them all over the w.w.w.
Nice photos JRoot. So great of you to offer a pictorial explanation. What's wrong with your fingernails? They're so clean!
I would just add, David, that any tubers with broken necks hanging from your clump are only going to take up space where the new plant might make tubers during the season, so cut them off with a pruners or scissors. I have a clump I just got from a store that I will try to photograph tomorrow that will show this exact thing and which I'm going to cut off.
I should also start a thread called "Will This Tuber Ever Have an Eye?" So you can all vote your input on photos of various tubers that are slower than molasses to show an eye. I much prefer those that are early sprouters at this time of year.
Poochella
Dig them up & divide them up & plant single tubers. If they have been in the ground for a couple of years they get weak, leggy & fewer blooms. They need to be divided at least every other year- ideal is every year. Fungicide is necessary if you have black spots - some of the mildew mold can be controlled with a spraying of skim milk - & be sure to snip off the bottom leaves as the summer goes on to improve circulation in the bed & prevent mildew.
Plantlady2
Thank you for responding. From your profile you sound like a Dahlia Master!. My previous gardens never had these problems. For 10 years I always dug them up in the fall and replanted in the spring. They were beautiful. Last spring when I did the planting I didn't have any old tubers to plant. We moved here in mid August and I could not dig any up to take with me. Everything was bought fresh, except the ones that grew from the previous owner. I was digging around in the beds over the weekend. I found allot of holes and tunnels. Maybe Moles/Voles were the demise of the dahlias last season. This spring I decided to only plant the dahlias in large pots to see if it makes a difference. I hate to give up on such beautiful flowers! Thanks.......Dianne
It's a really different bloom- we used to grow it before we started to specialize in AA sized ones. Pink Giraffe is nice, too. The problem with them both is they aren't very good keepers- but they put out loads of nice unusual blooms- about 4' diameter & kind of striped yellowish orange & darker bronze for Giraffe-- Pink Giraffe does the same kind of unusual markings only in light pink & a bit darker pink. I seem to recall that they had really good stems, too which made for good arrangment flowers. Clack's lists Giraffe w/ picture but it looks more like Pink Giraffe to me.
Here is a link that might be useful: 
Penn's Gift is a monster, fuller than Emory Paul. Ivory Palaces is large and full. Kelvin Floodlight- a large dinnerplate. There are probably 10,000 others..
Follow the link to many gorgeous blooms from Wynne's Dahlias. They specialize in large dahlias with many original varieties. And oh so pretty I might add!
Here is a link that might be useful: Wynne's supersize dahlias
The summer of 2003 we had a Wanda's Moonlight with a bloom that measured 17" across & 14" deep! It was the first bloom & down in the plant so I couldn't get a really good picture of it but there are pictures of later blooms on the same plant in our albums at the site given in the previous answer. Sir Alfred Ramsey is another biggie but very frequently will "beard" so is not as attractive as some. We won Best AA & Biggest in show in 3 shows in 2003 with Zorros that were huge. They have a wonderful form & don't sag on you! Love those AA's that are a bouquet in themselves!
thanks for the advice... I think I might start one or two very soon and then wait until my greenhouse is built to do the rest. One of the bulbs I got actually already has roots because it is in a bag of peat moss (I think that's what it is in, looks like soil kind of.) I'm hoping if I start them inside now I will get blooms before late july/august. Last year I only started one dahlia from a bulb and I did it really late so I didnt have flowers till autum. This year I want to get to an early start. I might also try starting some regular green elephant ear bulbs in pots as well.
Good luck with your dahlias!
-DR
Last year I started mine in pots inside - now I live in Atlanta so it might be a bit sunnier, but the pots were in direct southern exposure sunlight. They started shooting up in about a week or two and I put them outside even before the danger of frost was done. But because they were in pots I could bring them in. Now if I was to plant them in the ground, it's pretty easy to transplant them before they get to big, but I'd worry about the cold inyour area...
Hi Patty,
Big clumps are hard to handle and will produce fewer blooms of lesser quality than one or two healthy tubers. (Says she who left 6 clumps in the ground last winter.)They keep reproducing tubers each year, and get more difficult to handle.
Dividing is a great way to get more tubers for planting or sharing. You should be able to see which ones on the clump are developing eyes or growth buds and make your cuts accordingly. I think people advise if in doubt about dividing individual tubers,just cut the clump into halves or quarters and hopefully you'll have something that grows out of each bunch.
I would let the fresh cuts dry over and even dust the cut area with sulphur before they go into the ground though.
Good Luck in your second year of dahlias.
Poochella
Here is a link that might be useful: Dividing Tubers
This is my 4th year growing them, in the ground and in pots. I did not divide 3 clumps that I put in the ground a few years ago and last year they were pretty lame indeed. The other ones that I divided did just as well as when I first bought them.
So in a nutshell, my completely un-scientific opinion is to divide em!
Hi Murka, fellow zone 5 gardener from Ontario:
I would be tempted to put in no more than 5 dahlias in the 24 x 24 pot. They don't want to be too crowded, and you will need to pinch the lower area so that moisture does not become a problem, hence mold.
Actually, 3 large dahlias would be nice. I particularly like the cactus style, with about a 4-6 inch flower. If you pinch the lead steam, it will branch out for you, and you will have plenty of flowers. I had two dahlias in a slightly smaller plant last year, and they did very well, and looked spectacular.
Only plant a few inches, not too deep. If you plant outside around May 20, you may have to protect them from frost, but that is quite easy in a 24x24 planter. Put in a couple of stakes when you plant the tuber, so that you can tie them up later in the season, and you can also throw a sheet over top, in the event of frost. Where I live, near Guelph, we often get frost up to early June, so we have to be prepared.
I start my dahlias before most, and keep them under lights. However, if you have really good southern exposure windows, you should be able to give them a head start.
Good luck. Keep us informed as to how you are progressing.
jamlover Jean, I leave mine in the ground. I lost only 1 out of 65 last year, (Kasasagi) and doubt if I will loose any this year. EVery so many years we will hve a winter where I might loose them but then I would get to start with all new ones! Worth the risk to me! Especialy when it is labeled an el Nino year that means we prbably won't have any deep freezing. I do put a straw mulch over mine if the weather is going down into the mid twenties. NEver got there this year.
LizaLily, I was looking at your member page and am encouraged to read that you too have both fibromyalgia and arthritis yet still have a business that requires so much physical effort. I too have both and have wondered what that prognosis means for the future.
Butterfly, I bet you can grow any type of dahlia there.
Inquire at the link below. They will be able to answer more zone specific questions.
Here is a link that might be useful: Georgia Dahlia Society
Most of mine are planted in acidic soil, so I don't know what others will say about the lime, I think they like a bit of acid in their soil. I dig to a depth of 12-14 inches, plant at a depth of 4-6 inches. This allows plenty of room for tubers to develop underground. I add compost every year and mulch with more to maintain moisture. sounds like your stunted veggie patch might benefit from some more nutrients.
Dahlia roots are fairly shallow, hence the advice not to do anything but superficial weeding. I don't know that I'd even make raised beds unless you like the look of them.
Good luck!
Poochella
You really don't need a raised bed. I dig a hole in the ground about 12" deep and 12-20" dia. I sift the lousy soil from the hole through a 3/8" X 3/8" screen and into a wheel barrow. I take the rocks and put them somewhere else on the property. I mix compost, top soil, and some pete with the sifted lousy brown soil. I put a few inches in the bottom of the hole. Place the tuber. Stake. Fill the hole with remaining good dirt. Water and watch them grow like crazy. I use the same holes every year sometimes making new ones. This cuts down on the work from year to year.
KD, Our damp conditions might be the reason, but almost all the instructions from growers out here say DO NOT WATER til the plant is up, there is plenty of moisture to feed the rootlets without rotting the tuber. I try to wait til the plants are about 8 inches tall before watering, unless really warm and dry weather occurs. Our dry winter and Spring might call for "Plan B" though this year.
Poochella
I behaved very badly as a Birthday Girl, Liza.
I came away with 18 new tubers, a free birthday tuber and a membership to the PSDA! Now I'll be really dilly-dallying in the dahlia patch. This is on top of what I have already ordered, and the ones I got at the NW Flower and Garden Show. I need a rototiller!
After swearing for years I would never branch into the red colors, I branched into the red colors with Prince Valiant, Rejman's Polish Kid and Helen's Alvin,Sr. Got a few new laciniates, some waterlilies, some others I killed last year planting too early that I really wanted: Just Peachy, Hissy Fitz, Brookside J Cooley, to name a few.
I will have fun planning where they will go. And
I will not plant too early
I will not plant too early
I will not plant too early.
Just Peachy is one of my absolute favorites! Love it with purples for an autumn arrangement. Beautiful with many peach and apricot shade roses too! IF I Could only take 6 tubers with me in an emergency, Just Peachy would be one!
Oh what a fun birthday it sounds like!
I usually get to do my birthday (Jan 27) at the Tacoma Garden and Home show where they have the BEST plants on sale! And then there are the bulb people.....But hey, we can pull the car right up to the back to load, and they have a Flower check stand so you don't have to carry things around all the time!
Besides, it is in a different month then the Northwest GArden show so charges don't go on the same month on the charge card, LOL.
30 a day! 100 a day! Off one plant? I'm coming over to steal some of your soil, Liza. (Do you have a big man- eating Rottweiler?)
LizaLily, is Chilson's Pride your most prolific dahlia? What are some others that produce loads of blooms for cutting?